Poured into 9oz pilsener glass. Poured a very nice deep honey color with about an inch of white head that had very low retention and no lacing.

The aroma featured some basic maltiness, a bit of sweetness and a touch of alcohol. The flavors were nearly identical, basic grainy malts, some sweetness at the back and a touch of alcohol burn.

The body was nicely full and smooth, although the stickiness of the finish was a bit annoying. Drinkability was decent, I'd have another. Overall, as with most of the TJ's brews, this isn't a great beer, but a good solid one and a decent value.

A: Pours a crystal clear golden amber color with strong looking carbonation trails. The head is a two finger white color with low retention, but a great texture. A nice amount of spiderweb lacing is left on the glass.

S: Light grassiness, with some supplementary darker fruits, such as raisin and plum. OK, just a little weak.

T: Initially, it's fairly bready to start, before becoming intrusively malty on the midtaste, before the flavor kind of vanishes on the finish, excluding a slight aftertaste. The lingering fruit aftertaste isn't particularly likable, either - it's a bit like apple juice, in a way. It smooths out after several sips, but it's just kind of...weird. Quite imbalanced, too.

M: Moderately heavy with a neutral finish, yet there's an undercutting surge of dryness on the aftertaste that clashes with the rest of the texture. Carbonation is about where it needs to be in terms of strength.

O: It's cheap ($1), drinkable, and features 7% alcohol, but the beer itself doesn't impress. Too intrusively offbeat to be a good beer, but I don't hate it.

Poured into a 14oz. pilzner glass. a rich clear gold color. The head is off white and starts off two fingers high, then settles down to a thin blanket on top of the lager with a little clinging to the glass.

The aroma is rather light, some hints of sweet malt and mild alcohol sweetness. Otherwise not a very complex aroma, but nothing terrible either.

Sweet honey like malt hits the palate first with sudden hint of grassy hop. There is hints of white grape, and sweet alcohol. Giving a mild fruit profile to the lager. The finish has a semi-dry bitter hop that lingers for a little.

The body is slick on the tongue, some what chewy. Yet, I would still say this bock has a medium body.

Overall this bock is not bad. I really can say I am impressed more with the fact that this is a store brand beer. Would I try it again... well yes if I was low on cash. Because these Trader Joe brews are a real bargain. $6.49 for a six pack or $1.09 a bottle.

Two finger thick white head with good retention but little lacing on a clear golden amber body. Aroma is malty with gingerbread and a light spicey note. Flavor is more of the same with full malt backbone and gingerbread notes. Fairly smooth with medium body and light to moderate carbonation. A flavorful beer and a nice version of the style, just not very memorable.

Bottle from Trader Joe's in Omaha, NE
Best by 4/22/12
Poured into a standard US pint glass

Pours a tall head of medium-sized bubbles, off-white in color, that fairly quickly fades to a thin ring around the glass and faint islands of foam atop the body. Leaves no lacing along sides of glass. Body is a dark copper-brown color out of light, in light it is copper-orange with faint yellow highlights. Carbonation is visible, though not particularly active

Taste opens with caramel malt sweetness backed-up by modest hop bitterness and some German-style yeast esters that I'd more associate with hefeweizens (apple/applesauce, generic fructose). Mid-palate picks up some additional bitterness and spiciness from the hops and ethanol, continuing with the malt sweetness and applesauce-like esters. Leaves lingering bitterness and some applesauce-like sweetness as an aftertaste.

Medium bodied with modest carbonation that only foams this up slightly on the palate. Result is that beer stagnates a bit in the mouth. Finish is quite dry.